About us

A short history

In 2008 the awful worldwide death rate around birth and pregnancy for both mothers and babies made a group of Dutch midwives take action. With the help of their national professional association KNOV they started an intensive collaborative effort with the national association of midwives in Sierra Leone. 

Maternal health care in the West-African nation was devastated by several causes, including a civil war, with dire consequences for mothers and babies. At the time, Sierra Leone was one of the top 3 countries with the highest death rates for new mothers and babies in the world. Girls had a higher chance of dying in pregnancy or child birth than of going to school.

With grate determination five midwives were found to breathe new life into the national association of midwives in Sierra Leone. They in turn found a few colleagues here and there, allowing them to get to work with twenty-five members.

Twenty-five Dutch midwives were selected to work as ’twin sisters’ with their colleagues in Sierra Leone. Each duo realised small projects designed to improve perinatal care in both Sierra Leone and The Netherlands.

To make it work, they of course needed money. Since the proffessional association KNOV is barred from fundraising they started the official charity midwives4mothers in 2010. Midwives4mothers is an independent foundation with the objective to reduce perinatal death by reinforcing midwives.

Today, the project between Sierra Leone and The Netherland has ended successfully. Now the Sierra Leonean midwives work with their colleagues in Ghana. The Dutch midwives have worked with colleagues in Morocco and are currently teaming up with Iceland.

This way, the midwives4mothers method is spreading across the world.

Dear colleagues, donors of midwives4mothers, 22-4-2021

The current board of midwives4mothers (m4m) has decided, after extensive consultation with the board of the KNOV, to resign its acts as of May 1, 2021. A difference of vision in governance between the KNOV and the board of m4m is the cause for this. The end of the Iceland twinning project together with  the Covid-19 pandemic is a natural reflection time for the KNOV and the m4m foundation. Partly due to Covid 19, the orientation towards a new project requires more time. The m4m board has the opinion that the new long-term choices can therefore be better done by a new board. The resigning board is warmly committed to the foundation, also in the future, and will ensure a careful handover.

• The membership fees (donations) remain in the foundation until a new project by the KNOV and the new m4m board.is chosen
• The KNOV has decided to refresh and align the statutes of the foundation with the followed WHO governance for non-governmental organizations and the “Charities” status of m4m.
• If you are interested in the vacant positions of the m4m board, you can send an e-mail send to: directie@knov.nl.

Kind regards on behalf of the KNOV and m4m board,

Linda Rentes Noortje Jonker George Miedema, Carola Groenen, Charlotte de Schepper and Franka Cadée

Daily management twinning up North

Four project leaders, all midwives, coordinate the twinning projects of m4m. Franka Cadée has managed that team from The Netherlands. She is also a midwive and holds a PhD on twinning. She is the chairperson of the International Confederation of Midwives, ICM. 

Annual Reports and finances

What do we do with the money entrusted to us?

If you decide to support us, many people will be very grateful. Not just us from midwives4mothers, but especially all those midwives who will benefit from your donation. So they can be proud of their profession, learn about the newest developments and get training to communicate and cooperate effectively.

And who profits? Evidently, the women in their care, and their babies.

We want to see a world where all women receive good and respectful care around pregnancy and birth. So they won’t just be healthy, but also look back upon the experience with happiness and pride. Pregnancy and birth should be a high point in the lives of all mothers.

Your donation makes it possible! A happy mother and a healthy baby, with a strong midwife at their side.

We would like to share our accounts and financial plans with you, so you can see for yourself what we do with your donation. Now and in the future. 

• Statuten m4m 2010